Month: April 2015

The officials of the Audi Sport TT Cup will be looking back on twelve months of preparation when the new Audi one-make cup debuts at the Hockenheimring on May 2 and 3, 2015. A cup race will be held on both Saturday and Sunday as part of the 2015 DTM Festival. In addition to the 18 permanent entrants, six guest drivers will be on the grid.

In contrast to the setup work for the race weekend being in full swing at Hockenheim, the drivers of the Audi Sport TT Cup have already completed their preparations. Last Saturday, they simulated a race day on the short configuration of the Hockenheimring with free practice, qualifying and race simulation. “Our participants from 13 nations again proved their professionalism that day,” says Rolf Michl, Project Leader Audi Sport TT Cup. “The final tests went smoothly and now we are even more excited about starting to race.”

Sven Hannawald (D), Tanner Foust (USA) and three journalists with racing experience, who are going to climb into the cockpit as guest entrants at Hockenheim, participated in the final test as well. The sixth guest entry, rallycross driver Toomas Heikkinen, was absent due to his participation at the season opener of FIA World Rallycross Championship in Portugal.

The Audi Sport TT Cup race weekend will start on Thursday, April 30, at 13.50 with free practice. In qualifying on Friday, the participants are going to battle for the grid positions in both races, starting at 9.35. The fastest lap will be classified for round one and the second-fast lap for round two. The first race will be started on Saturday at 10.10. On Sunday, at 9.40, the 24 participants are going to contest the second race. Both rounds will be broadcast by live streaming on www.audi-motorsport.com.

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A redeeming moment for Audi’s motorsport fans: Exactly 195 days without DTM will be over when another DTM race starts at Hockenheim on Saturday, May 2, at 14.48 after a long winter break – followed by the next one less than 24 hours later.

The DTM Festival at Hockenheim will be the first practical test for the new weekend format with races scheduled on Saturday and Sunday. “We’re offering fans a double dose of action this year,” says Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport. In addition to the DTM, motorsport fans can look forward to the new Audi Sport TT Cup celebrating its world debut at Hockenheim – with races on Saturday and Sunday as well. Last but not least, the FIA World Rallycross Championship (World RX) will be visiting Hockenheim for the first time. Three Audi privateer teams will be on the grid with their near-600-hp Supercars. A supporting program featuring autograph sessions, stunt shows, parties and concerts has been arranged to perfect the weekend.

“For Audi fans, Hockenheim will particularly be worth a visit this year,” Dieter Gass is convinced. “We’re determined to pick up in racing where we left off on clinching the DTM manufacturers’ title with a one-two-three result in last year’s finale.”

A total of eight Audi RS 5 DTM cars will be on the Hockenheim grid on the first weekend in May. The technology has remained nearly unchanged due to the freeze imposed by the regulations on the current-specification cars. Still, the three manufacturers intensively worked on minute details last winter. “The lap times set in the tests aren’t really conclusive,” says Gass. “The only thing you can do is compare your own data with last year’s and rely on the work done in winter. We’re confident based on what we’ve seen so far. But we won’t see the real picture until Hockenheim.”

The Audi drivers are excited about the forthcoming season opener as well. “ I really look forward to the Saturday at Hockenheim and the first qualifying session every year,” says the Swede Mattias Ekström, who won the final race in 2014 and is one of the three DTM Champions to battle for title honors for Audi in 2015. “Hockenheim with the DTM, TT Cup and Rallycross on a single weekend is a rare opportunity this year and as a fan I’d be sure not to miss out on it,” Ekström adds.

Due to the extensive program the spectacle will start on Thursday with free practice sessions scheduled for the drivers of the Audi Sport TT Cup and the World Rallycross Championship. The first outing of the eight Audi RS 5 DTM cars will be on Friday morning. The really serious part will begin for the Audi Sport DTM squad on Saturday when events are going to follow each other in quick succession: free practice at 9.00, qualifying at 12.00 and the start of the first race at 14.48. The schedule on Sunday is similarly dense: warm-up at 9.00, qualifying at 10.35, race 2 at 13.43.

Both races live on ‘Das Erste’ live video interviews on Periscope

Tickets for the DTM Festival at Hockenheim can be ordered online at www.audi-motorsport.com. ARD will be airing live broadcasts on ‘Das Erste’ (Saturday starting at 14.30, Sunday starting 13.20 – local time). Live coverage of the races will be provided by numerous TV channels around the globe as well, or it can be watched on the DTM’s YouTube channel. Audi Sport will be offering a new service at the DTM season opener. Following the free practice and qualifying sessions and the two races, there will be live video interviews with Audi drivers on the new Social Media platform Periscope.

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Audi is further extending its lead in automotive lighting technology. In the sponsored project “intelligent laser light for compact and high-resolution adaptive headlights” (iLaS), the brand with the four rings is working on the headlights of the future with partners from industry and science. Matrix Laser technology and its high resolution will make roadway illumination even more flexible and highly versatile – in all situations.

Matrix Laser technology is based on the LaserSpot for high‑beam lamps, which Audi first introduced to production in the Audi R8 LMX*. For the first time, bright lasers are making it possible to integrate projector technology in a compact and powerful headlight.

The new technology operates with a rapidly moving micro-mirror, which redirects the laser beam. At low vehicle speeds, the light is distributed to a larger projection area, and the road is illuminated with a very wide range. At high speeds, the aperture angle is smaller, and the intensity and range of the light are increased significantly. This is especially advantageous in highway driving. In addition, the light can be distributed precisely. This means that the brightness of different lighting zones can be varied by controlling the illumination dwell times in the specific zones.

Also new is intelligent and lightning-fast activation and deactivation of the laser diodes in relation to the mirror position. This makes the broadening or narrowing of the luminous beam dynamic and highly variable. As with today’s Matrix LED headlights from Audi, the road is always brightly lit without causing glare to other participants in traffic. The crucial difference is that Matrix Laser technology offers even finer dynamic resolution and therefore a higher degree of utilization, which leads to greater safety in road traffic.

In the new technology, blue laser diodes from OSRAM radiate their light, which has a wavelength of 450 nanometers, onto a quickly moving mirror that is three millimeters in size. This mirror redirects the blue laser light to a converter, which converts it to white light and projects it onto the road. The mirror used for this, which comes from the Bosch company, is a micro-optical system that features electro-mechanical control and is based on silicon technology. It is very sturdy and exhibits very long life. Such components are also used for accelerometers and control units for electronic stability control.

For many years now, Audi has been the leader in automotive lighting technology. Some of the brand’s key innovations:

2003: Audi A8* with adaptive light

2004: Audi A8 W12* with LED daytime running lights

2008: Audi R8* with all‑LED headlights

2010: Audi A8 in which the headlights are networked with the navigation data

2012: Audi R8 with dynamic turn signal lights

2013: Audi A8 with Matrix LED headlights

2014: Audi R8 LMX with LaserSpot for the high‑beam lamps

In the framework of the three-year “iLaS” project, Audi is working closely with its partners Bosch, Osram and the Lichttechnischen Institut (LTI; “Lighting Technology Institute”) of the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT). The project is sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research.

**The fuel consumption and the CO2 emissions of a vehicle vary due to the choice of wheels and tires. They not only depend on the efficient utilization of the fuel by the vehicle, but are also influenced by driving behavior and other non-technical factors.

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“Vorsprung durch Technik” attracts the experts of tomorrow: This is proven by recent studies by consulting companies trendence* and Universum*. In both rankings, Audi is once again the preferred employer for young engineers in Germany. The company is also increasingly popular with young IT experts. University students have good job opportunities at Audi: This year, the brand with the Four Rings plans to recruit another 6,000 new employees worldwide. A large proportion of them will work on new innovations and will provide support with developing international production facilities.

Most engineering students and graduates in Germany want to work at Audi, as proven by the renewed double win in the two studies. “In connection with the mobility of the future, bold ideas and new concepts are required,” stated Board of Management Member for Human Resources Thomas Sigi. “Topics such as connectivity or piloted driving fascinate young development engineers and show what makes Vorsprung durch Technik so special at Audi.”

The rankings also indicate that high‑performing young people expect an ideal employer to provide not only innovative tasks, but also an attractive salary, individual development possibilities, security and a good work‑life balance. Students of business management confirmed Audi’s attractiveness with high rankings for these factors as well.

The company is also increasingly popular with sought‑after IT experts: In the Universum ranking, the brand with the Four Rings was seen as the best automobile manufacturer, taking fourth place after Google, Microsoft and Apple. In the trendence‑study, Audi moved up the ranking compared with last year, climbing from fifth to fourth place. “Any company that wants to attract IT experts has to promote its innovation potential,” explained Thomas Sigi. “At Audi, we do that with flat hierarchies, flexible working practices and a dynamic working environment. With us, specialists have the best possible conditions to shape the mobility of the future and to apply their creativity.”

Young people are increasingly attracted also by the company’s values. They appreciate Audi’s open corporate culture and strong social involvement, for example with schools, social institutions and regional cultural activities at the company’s various sites. The premium brand offers interested students numerous possibilities to come into contact with the company: More than 1,600 students passed through an internship in 2014 for example. Graduates also have additional entry opportunities through the Development Program for Academics (EfA) or by doing a doctoral thesis in collaboration with Audi. Talented young people can combine studies and practical experience at the company through the program “Studies and Experience in Practice” (StEP) at the Ingolstadt site and the cooperation with the Baden‑Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) in Neckarsulm.

In the context of its expansion, Audi intends to increase its product range to 60 models by the year 2020. The brand with the Four Rings will therefore invest more than 24 billion euros in new products and technologies by 2019, and is continually expanding its global production network. As it moves along this growth path, Audi will strengthen its workforce with additional experts. By the end of 2015, more than 6,000 new employees are to be recruited worldwide. About 4,000 of the new jobs will be offered at the German sites in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. In line with its advancing internationalization, Audi has firmly established in its strategy the goal of being the “world’s most attractive employer.” With success: Already in 2014, the Audi Group was awarded multiple prizes as the top employer in Germany, Italy, Hungary and Belgium.

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The season opener in Germany on the first weekend in May will kick off the 25th season of the Audi quattro Cup. The tournament series for amateur golfers that is popular around the world is the hub of Audi’s involvement in national and international golf.

Far more than a million golfers across the globe have participated in the Audi quattro Cup since its inception, while the series has been setting new top marks year after year. In 2014, over 100,000 amateurs in more than 900 qualification tournaments played to qualify for the world finale in which 53 nations were represented. The tournaments are held at the invitation of regional Audi partners as ‘foursomes with selected drive.’ The winners qualify for the finale in their countries and the best country teams subsequently meet in the world finale. This season, the world finale will be held at the Cabo del Sol Ocean Course in Mexico from November 29 to December 2. The participants from Germany will be determined at the A-Rosa Resort Bad Saarow from August 31 to September 4. The Audi Ladies Cup to which regional Audi partners invite female golfers has been the Audi quattro Cup’s equivalent for women since 1995.

The cooperation with Hartl Resort in Bad Griesbach that has existed since the beginning of this year is new in the portfolio of Audi’s extensive golf commitment. As the facility’s new premium partner, the company has given its name to the ‘Audi Golf Course’ and is featured with its logo on all advertising materials. In return, the brand makes five Audi models available to the resort.

The partnership with the German Golf Association (DGV) has existed since 2008. As its exclusive automobile partner, Audi provides several cars to the officials of the association that has some 640,000 members and is featured with the four rings on all membership cards.

For more than a decade, Audi has been presenting the Süddeutsche Zeitung Business Golf Cupthat begins at the Münchener Golf Club on June 9 this year. The Cup encompasses twelve tournaments and offers an ideal opportunity to establish or intensify business contacts while playing golf. Complete information is available online at www.businessgolfcup.de.

In addition, a spectacular highlight awaits golfers off the golf courses. Twelve holes along the legendary downhill ski course in Kitzbühel will have to be tackled again this year in the ‘Streif Attack’ that Audi will again be accompanying as the main sponsor in 2015.